New Releases by Timothy Zahn

Never before has the incendiary mix of action, politics, and intrigue that has become Timothy Zahn’s trademark, been mmore evident that in this new Star Wars epic. On the heels of the stunning events chronicled in Star Wars: A New Hope, the newly minted heroes of the Rebellion–fledgling Jedi Luke Skywalker, smuggler turned reluctant freedom-fighter Han Solo, and Princess Leia Organa, a bold leader with a world to avenge–must face the harsh realities of the cataclysmic conflict into which they have so bravely plunged. From this point forward, legends will grow, treachery will abound, and lives will be irrevocably altered, in the long, hard fight to counter the fist of tyranny and restore hope to a galaxy too long in darkness. The destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance was a decisive blow against the Empire, but Palpatine and his monstrous enforcer, Darth Vader, are no less of a threat. The brutal extermination of Alderaan not only demonstrated the magnitude of their murderous power, but served as a chilling testament to their resolve to crush the Rebel uprising. Standing against them, Skywalker, Solo, and the Princess remain uncertain opponents. Luke is gifted and brave, but unschooled in the power he possesses. Han has doubts about waging someone else’s war–and his contentiousness is one more burden for Leia to bear as she struggles to help keep the Rebellion alive. The three have been sent to mediate a dispute between Rebel Alliance factions in Shelsha Sector–agitating matters by forcing Han to deal not only with pirates, but with his more dreaded enemy, politics. At the same time, Mara Jade–all of eighteen and years away from her fateful meeting with Luke–is serving her evil master, Palpatine, well in her role as the Emperor’s Hand: tracking suspected treachery in the Empire to what may be high places–while trying to stay out of Darth Vader’s way. But the Rebels will prove to be only one of the Empire’s concerns. For Imperial Stormtrooper Daric LaRone, his faith in the Empire shaken by the wanton destruction of Alderaan, will commit a sudden and violent act of defiance, and take four other enforcers with him, in a desperate bid to elude their masters’ wrath. Each of these fateful actions, whether sanctioned, secret, or scandalous, will expose brutality and corruption, spur upheavals destined to shake the Empire to its core, and shape momentous events yet to come. Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn brings his epic two-volume series The Hand of Thrawn to an explosive conclusion with a discovery that rocks the New Republic to its foundations--and threatens to resurrect the Empire. The Empire''s master plan is under way. The New Republic is on the verge of civil war and the rumor that the legendary Admiral Thrawn has returned from the dead is rallying the Imperial forces. Now Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and their allies face the challenge of their lives. They must infiltrate a hidden fortress filled with Imperial fanatics, rendezvous with a double-dealing Imperial commander, and journey into enemy territory to learn the identity of those responsible for an act of unthinkable genocide. But most important of all is the truth about Thrawn. In his hands--alive or dead--rests the fate of the New Republic. Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years! © 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM All rights reserved. Used under authorization.

In this essential Star Wars Legends novel, the sequel to Heir to the Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s sinister plan threatens to spell doom for the fledgling New Republic and its most iconic heroes. The dying Empire’s most cunning and ruthless warlord, Grand Admiral Thrawn, has taken command of the remnants of the Imperial Fleet and launched a massive campaign aimed at the New Republic’s destruction. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian race against time to find proof of treason inside the highest Republic Council—only to discover instead a ghostly fleet of warships that could bring doom to their friends and victory to their enemies. Yet most dangerous of all is a new Dark Jedi, risen from the ashes of a shrouded past, consumed by bitterness, and scheming to corrupt Luke Skywalker to the dark side.

Following the dramatic events of Terminator Salvation, a recovering John Connor grants Barnes permission to return to the destroyed VLA lab and bury his brother, killed in the explosive opening of the movie. At the ruins Barnes and Blair Williams hunt through the debris for the remains of their comrade but instead uncover a mysterious cable leading up into the mountains. The two Resistance fighters head into the wilderness to investigate. What the pair discovers is an entire village that appears largely untouched by Judgment Day and its aftermath. Suspicious of the villagers, Barnes and Blair decide to dig deeper.... An official novel exploring the post-Judgment Day world of the hit movieTerminator Salvation.

From The Ashes, written by Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn, sets the scene for the events chronicled in the movie Terminator Salvation, revealing the full story behind John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. In post-Judgment Day LA, two lost kids named Kyle and Star keep watch for Terminators; a jaded Marine struggles to keep his rag-tag community together in the face of unrelenting danger; and John and Kate Connor assemble their Resistance team for a brutal assault on a deadly enemy.

From the author of the all-time bestselling "Star Wars" novel, "Heir to the Empire," comes this thrilling, fast-paced space adventure.

Former government agent Frank Compton foiled a plot to enslave the galaxy in Night Train to Rigel. But the Modhri, an ancient telepathically linked intelligence, has walkers, unwilling hosts that can be anywhere, anything...and anyone. And Compton is the only man who knows how to fight them, as they wage a secret war against the galactic civilizations linked by the Quadrail, the only means of intra-galactic transit. Accompanied by Bayta, a woman with strange ties to the robot-like Spiders who run the Quadrail, and dogged by special agent Morse who suspects him of murder, Compton races the Modhri from station to station to acquire a set of valuable sculptures from a long-dead civilization. What the Modhri wants with them is anybody''s guess, but if Compton can''t outwit it, the whole galaxy will find out the hard way.

The fifth exciting Dragonback SF Adventure

In this exciting space adventure, fourteen-year-old Jack Morgan and Draycos, a poet/warrior K''da dragon who can hide himself as a tattoo on Jack''s back, have their backs to the wall. Brought together by a twist of fate, these two have been through a lot of scrapes, risking death and imprisonment on worlds far and wide, seeking justice for Jack and information that might save Draycos''s people from a genocidal ambush. But now, Neverlin, the man who killed Jack''s parents and destroyed the scout fleet of which Draycos was the sole survivor, is about to ambush millions of K''da refugees, and kill them with a Death weapon that kills any living being within its range. To prevent Neverlin from eradicating the K''da race, Jack and Draycos must somehow disable the Death. But for Jack and Draycos, things never seem to go the way they should. When Jack''s friend Alison is captured, Jack gives himself up to keep her from being harmed. Neverlin, with Jack and Draycos as his prisoners, holds all the cards. But desperate times call for desperate measures, as time is running out, not just for our young heroes, but also for the millions of K''da who face annihilation, and resourceful Jack and his remarkable ally will fine a way . . . or die trying. Dragon and Liberator is the powerful, thrilling conclusion to this terrific Young Adult six-book series from award-winning author Timothy Zahn. Fun for readers 10 and older. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Mara Jade, the Emperor''s Hand, is looking into the illicit financial affairs of a planetary governor, hoping to find evidence that he might be funding the Rebellion. Luke, Han, and Chewbacca are sent on a mission to help some rebel supporters. Leia is busy being a diplomat, trying to drum up support for the Rebel Alliance.

Fast-paced, suspenseful space adventure by a master of military hard science fiction

LEGENDARY WARRIORS¾THE ONLY HOPE OF A CONQUERED EARTH Damon Lathe and his blackcollar combat team face their most serious challenge. On one of the conquered human colony worlds is a Ryqril tactical center through which flows an entire sector''s worth of military data. If the blackcollars can find a way inside, it could tip the balance in the current Ryqril-Chryselli war. It could even start humanity on the path back to ultimate freedom. But the Ryqril aren''t sitting idly by. Under threat of reprisals against his world, Prefect Jamus Galway of Plinry is already on the case. His plan: to turn the blackcollars and their combat skill into unknowing tools of the Ryqril. His hidden ace: a clone duplicate of Lathe''s ally Allan Caine, ready to be slipped into Lathe''s inner circle. It will be the blackcollars'' most important mission. It may also be their last. At the publisher''s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for the science fiction of Timothy Zahn: "Zahn keeps the story moving at a breakneck pace, maintaining excitement."¾Publishers Weekly "._._. finely wrought space adventure [with] social, political and emotional complications, all of which Zahn treats with his usual skill." ¾Booklist

The fourth exciting Dragonback adventure

Before the start of the Clone Wars, the future emperor was already manoeuvering to destroy the Jedi. This is the tale of the doomed ''Outbound Flight Project'', which began as a new hope for the galaxy and ended in despair.

Office messenger Graham Smith, an obsessive-compulsive mute with a unique talent for seeing things that others cannot in the world around him, meets Analise Mercado, a young woman who hears voices warning her about the men out to kill Graham, in the story of two people whose lives are fragmented across alternate realities and who hold the key to the future of a billion planets.

The third exciting adventure in the Dragonback series by Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn.

Timothy Zahn, author of Heir to the Empire, the best selling Star Wars novel of all time, has crafted a fresh, suspenseful tale of conflict in New York City that threatens to escalate into all-out genocidal warfare. For seventy-five years the Greens and the Grays have lived quietly among us in the shadows of New York, alien refugees from a war of attrition that utterly destroyed the rest of their kind. Passing as everyday citizens, yet with powers and technologies unknown to humanity, each group has long believed that they are all that remain of their old world and their terrible conflict. But now, to their mutual surprise, they have found each other, and the old hatreds and fears have once again risen to the surface. And each side is preparing again for war. On a cold October night, Roger and Caroline Whittier, a young couple struggling with their marriage, are accosted at gunpoint, and an unexpected burden is thrust upon them: Melantha Green, a twelve-year-old girl snatched from the hands of a peace coalition consisting of both Greens and Grays. The coalition had been preparing to cold-bloodedly sacrifice her in a last-ditch effort to prevent the impending battle . . . and it desperately wants her back. As Roger and Caroline strive to protect Melantha and to understand the alien cultures they have suddenly been thrust into, they find aid in unlikely places. They''re joined in their efforts by NYPD Detective Thomas Fierenzo, who''s determined to prevent what he believes to be an impending gang war, and by Otto Velovsky, a former Ellis Island clerk who was present at the very beginning of the aliens'' new life on earth. Unlikely allies, unlikely heroes...and they have just one week to find a way to prevent New York City from becoming a battlefield the likes of which the world has never known...

The sequel to Dragon and Thief, "A space opera for all ages." --Critical Mass

THE EMPIRE STRIKES A DEAL The history of the planet Kariek has been one of seemingly endless violence— thanks to the constantly erupting revolutions among the many divided tribes of the native Eickarie race battling for dominance. Yet none of these tribes has held sway since a mysterious Warlord and his legion of alien mercenaries seized power and began a fifty-year reign of terror. Now, at last, the tide may be turning: the leaders of the warring Eickarie factions have forged an alliance—strong enough to capture a city and corner the Warlord and his minions in their fortress. And the post-Palpatine Empire of the Hand is lending support to this revolt against tyranny by deploying no less a fighting force than the Imperial 501st Legion of stormtroopers. Once infamously known as “Vader’s Fist,” the legendary 501st are the best men for the dangerous objective at hand—capturing the Warlord alive. It’s a risky mission that might be jeopardized when Imperial unit commander Twister and his comrades, Shadow, Cloud, and Watchman, are waylaid by a band of zealous freedom fighters, armed with their own agenda . . . and plenty of firepower. The Eickarie renegades—determined to free hundreds of their people from the Warlord’s dungeons—have an offer to make, and a strategy that could give the Imperials the edge in the bloody showdown to come. But can Twister and his men trust their new allies? Or will they get more than they bargain for? This novella includes an excerpt from the novel STAR WARS: SURVIVOR''S QUEST by Timothy Zahn and an interview with the author.

The Pax Comitus, rulers of Earth, send a spy into the heart of the Empyrean colonies to investigate the mysterious "angels," particles emitted by a nearby black hole, which the Empyreans use to ensure the ethical behavior of their officials.

Mara Jade is beautiful, intelligent -- and deadly She is the Emperor''s Hand, the personal assassin of the Empire''s dark overlord. Mara has destroyed many enemies of the Empire in her time, and has always carried out her missions with forethought and skill. But after the Emperor''s death at the hands of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, an unforeseen variable is about to enter the scene of her final mission for her employer: the assassination of the leader of the Black Nebula crime organization. Though her master is dead, Jade must complete her final mission...even if it costs her life

When Imperial officials seek to negotiate a peace with the New Republic, a powerful group of warlords schemes against them. They are led by none other than the supposedly dead Grand Admiral Thrawn. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Hugo Award-winner and #1 New York Times bestselling author Timothy Zahn returns to complete his original, acclaimed SF trilogy. As both humans and the alien Zhirrzh prepare for all-out galactic war, a handful of individuals from both sides are stunned to discover that the explosive catalyst for the impending battle is a misunderstanding both tragic and profound. Determined to avoid mutual extinction for both their races, this band now becomes the focus of the subtle and dangerous force whose goal it is to annihilate and destroy.

In Conquerors'' Pride, Timothy Zahn, Hugo Award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling Star Wars(r) trilogy, unfurled an epic tale of drama and courage as the interstallar Commonwealth faced savage invasion by alien starships of unknown origin. Now he probes deeply into the world of the invaders themselves in one of the most powerful evocations of an alien society ever created. The Zhirrzh have won a temporary respite in their war with the barbarians. But the Human captive Pheylan Cavanaugh has escaped, and for that Thrr-gilag, the young Searcher, finds himself disgraced, his bond-engagement to a female of a rival clan imperilled. Soon he becomes a target of hidden and powerful forces seeking to remake Zhirrzh society in their own merciless image. His only hope is to prove that the overclan authorities are wrong: that it was not the Humans who started the war. But time is short. The forces of the Zhirrzh are overextended and face swift retaliation. The Zhirrzh have learned to conquer death itself -- but even that awesome power will be no match for the devastating might of the Human Conqueror armadas. Thrr-gilag soon comes to realize that his people face a two-fold threat: destruction by Human technology. . . or destruction from within.

Timothy Zahn, Hugo Award-winning author of The New York Times best-selling Star Wars trilogy, blazes a spectacular new path across the sky in an epic original novel of star-spanning action adventure, mystery and intrigue. A long era of peace and prosperity in the interstellar Commonwealth has suddenly come to an end. Four alien starships of unknown origin have attacked, without provocation, an eight-ship Peacemaker task force, utterly destroying it in six savage minutes. The authorities claim there were no survivors. But Lord Stewart Cavanaugh, a former member of Parliament, has learned through back channels that one man may have survived to be captured by the aliens: his son, Commander Pheylan Cavanaugh. A large-scale invasion appears imminent, and the strictest security measures are in effect . . . measures that Lord Cavanaugh has no choice but to defy. He recruits Adam Quinn, who once flew with the elite Copperheads--fighter pilots whose minds are literally one with their machines--to rescue his son. Quinn assembles a crack force of Copperheads to steal out of the Commonwealth security zone and snatch Pheylan Cavanaugh from the conquerors. Depending on the outcome, Quinn and his men will retum home as heroes or as the galaxy''s most despised traitors--if they come home at all.

The epic story that began with Heir to the Empire reaches its dramatic conclusion in this essential Star Wars Legends novel. The embattled Republic reels from the attacks of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has marshaled the remnants of the Imperial forces and driven the Rebels back with an abominable technology recovered from the Emperor''s secret fortress: clone soldiers. As Thrawn mounts his final siege, Han Solo and Chewbacca struggle to form a coalition of smugglers for a last-ditch attack, while Princess Leia holds the Alliance together and prepares for the birth of her Jedi twins. The Republic has one last hope—sending a small force into the very stronghold that houses Thrawn’s terrible cloning machines. There a final danger awaits, as the Dark Jedi C’baoth directs the battle against the Rebels and builds his strength to finish what he already started: the destruction of Luke Skywalker.

Jonny Moreau becomes one of the Cobras--an invincible soldier with surgically implanted weapons--in order to help defeat the alien Troft, and years later, works for both human and Troth when a new menace arises. Original.